The present invention relates generally to point of sale transaction terminals, and, more specifically, to a modular transaction terminal.
A typical transaction terminal used in a retail outlet includes a keyboard, display, printer, cash drawer, and electronic control unit in the form of separate modules that can be clustered or organized in suitable arrangements at a sales counter. This allows the ergonomic layout of the modules to be arranged as desired for accommodating the specific limitations of individual sales counters.
The control unit is typically manufactured with its own housing and is typically sized for being stacked together with the cash drawer and other components thereabove in a relatively small footprint for conserving space. The various modules of the terminal are operatively joined together using various external electrical cables and connectors which must be suitably routed and safeguarded from damage.
Although the typical modular transaction terminal provides flexibility in arrangement, the many components thereof must be separately manufactured, and separately designed for the various types of retail applications. Printers, cash drawers, and displays may take various forms. For example, displays may be in the form of cathode ray tubes (CRTs), or substantially flat screens using vacuum florescence or liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. A separate keyboard may be used, or key input may be directly integrated with the screen in the form of a conventional LCD touchscreen. The displays may be base mounted, or post mounted, and are preferably adjustable in viewing angle.
It is desirable to reduce the proliferation of separate modules, connectors, and external cables winding through the workspace and into the control unit. It is also desirable to reduce the number of different terminal components which must be manufactured, while at the same time maintaining flexibility and variety in the number of available displays and mounting arrangements.